A disability advocacy organization and two individuals have filed a class-action lawsuit against Epic, alleging the EHR vendor uses its dominant market position to block interoperability and make it difficult for patients to access their medical records.
The lawsuit, filed March 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, accuses Epic of monopolistic practices that fragment patient health data across multiple MyChart portals and restrict third-party access to records needed for disability claims.
The lawsuit follows earlier legal action against Epic in Texas. In December, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit accusing the EHR vendor of monopolizing the EHR market and engaging in deceptive practices that restrict parents’ access to their minor children’s medical records. Epic has denied the allegations.
Here are nine things to know about the lawsuit, which was reviewed by Becker’s:
- The plaintiffs — the American Association for Disability Justice, Larry Miller and John Hodges — allege Epic’s system architecture creates barriers that prevent patients and authorized platforms from assembling complete medical histories across healthcare providers.
- According to the complaint, Epic controls more than 40% of the hospital EHR market and manages records for hundreds of millions of patients.
- The lawsuit claims Epic requires patients to retrieve records through separate MyChart portals associated with each healthcare provider, forcing individuals who receive care across multiple systems to manage multiple accounts and manually download records.
- The plaintiffs say these barriers can delay Social Security disability claims, which rely heavily on comprehensive medical documentation.
- The complaint cites the case of Mr. Miller, who suffered severe complications from diabetes and applied for disability benefits. His claim was denied twice for insufficient medical evidence, and he later died while his appeal remained pending. After his death, his father allegedly was unable to retrieve portions of Miller’s medical records stored in MyChart accounts tied to his son’s personal login credentials.
- Another plaintiff, Mr. Hodges, said he spent more than two years assembling records from multiple providers while pursuing disability benefits after suffering several heart attacks. During that time, he experienced homelessness and lost custody of his daughter, according to the lawsuit.
- The complaint also alleges Epic interfered with efforts by the advocacy group to build a portal designed to aggregate medical records across providers using federal interoperability standards.
- The lawsuit claims Epic’s practices violate federal antitrust laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act and information-blocking provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act.
- Plaintiffs are seeking class-action certification, damages and court orders requiring Epic to remove technological barriers that prevent third-party platforms from retrieving electronic health information.
In an emailed statement, an Epic spokesperson told Becker’s the claims are baseless.
“Epic is fully interoperable with the Social Security Administration and has been for almost 15 years,” the spokesperson said. “We make it easy for claimants to exchange their medical records with SSA, and last year over 2.7 million records were exchanged electronically between SSA and organizations using Epic. Over 85% of SSA’s interoperable health IT partners are providers using Epic.”
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.